St. Patrick Is Not Irish… What? Clarification about Saint Patricks day

Saint Patricks day is today.  A day of celebration and green… a whole lot of green. Even Chicago dyes it’s river green with over 40lbs of food dye today! 

But have you ever wondered what the holiday is actually all about? It’s not just an excuse to go out to the “pubs” and toast the great Saint until you are passed out on the floor. No, in-fact, St. Patrick’s day has more to it than you probably know.

Isn’t it great that the Irish have a great Irish person to celebrate?  Huh, what’s that? St. Patrick isn’t Irish? Are you nuts!?

Actually, St. Patrick was born in Britain during the 5th century. Not as Patrick, mind you, but as Maewyn Succat. He was kidnapped by Irish marauders at the age of 16 and brought to Ireland where he was a shepherd slave for six years before he escaped. Back in Britain, he had a vision beckoning him to help the people of Ireland. Converting to Christianity, Succat became a Priest and changed his name to Patrick. From there he built schools and helped spread Christianity.

The Irish have recognized this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. Celebrating St. Patrick, who died on March 17th, has become a festive event. Traditionally, Irish families attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. The traditional meal is corned beef and cabbage – a meal that the Irish American immigrants made as they could not afford good meat and cabbage was one of the cheapest vegetables.

I know there are many people in the Tri-States that have at least a little Irish in them.  I know we have quite a few proud employees with an Irish heritage here at Runde Auto Group so I imagine they’ll be celebrating tonight.   

That being said, I wish everyone a happy Saint Patricks day!  Go out and help your kids catch a leprechaun so you can capture his pot of gold.  It’ll be better than winning the lottery.